Harare - Officials from the ruling Zanu PF party in Zimbabwe were denying opposition party supporters food aid, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission has found.
The ZHRC said on Wednesday that the food aid, mobilised to assist hungry villagers affected by the El Niño-driven drought conditions across the country, was being distributed along party lines, with Zanu PF officials denying food aid to opposition party supporters.
Addressing a press conference in Harare, ZHRC Chairperson, Elasto Mugwadi, said the commission’s investigators had unearthed that ruling party politicians were interfering in the distribution of the food aid for their personal political gain at the expense of deserving beneficiaries.
“Although the respondents or alleged perpetrators denied the allegations, the Commission, on the basis of evidence gathered, came to the conclusion that there was indeed discrimination and exclusion of certain citizens in the distribution of food aid in Bikita East, Mazowe Central, Muzarabani North and South and Buhera North Constituencies.
“These findings were replicated in the outcomes of similar investigations carried out in Zvimba South District. The ruling party members were the major perpetrators in violations linked to distribution of food, agricultural inputs and other forms of aid,” he said.
Mugwadi said community leaders such as village heads, headmen, village secretaries and district administrators, and in the case of Bikita East, the councillors, who were all members of the ruling party, told opposition party supporters openly that they would never get food aid.
He said those perceived to be opposition party supporters were also being excluded from food-for-work programmes in some districts, where Zanu PF youths were illegally involving themselves in the food aid distribution process in Bikita East and Mazowe districts.
“Furthermore, the investigators were informed that in the two districts in question, older persons who were not politically active but had family members such as children and grandchildren who were affiliated to the opposition parties were also being denied food aid,” Mugwadi said.
Mugwadi also revealed that some civil servants were also biased towards Zanu PF supporters, a development he said was against the provisions of the Public Service Regulations which required them to be apolitical.
“The long and short of the findings or outcomes of the investigations was that there was unbridled maladministration on the part of some public officials who were allegedly performing their duties partially and with bias against persons of particular political affiliations in contravention of the provisions of the Public Service Regulations SI 1/2000 which requires public officials to be apolitical and discharge their duties impartially and objectively,” he said.
Mugwadi also noted that there were cases of criminal violation of human rights by some public officials who were said to be stealing trust property in the form of food aid entrusted to them for distribution, as well as criminal violation of alleged assault perpetrated by some ruling party members on the Buhera North Ward 7 MDC-T councillor.
Mugwadi said they had recommended to the government that those found on the wrong side of the law be made to account for their actions, adding that most of the complainants were not aware of the procedures to be followed with regards food distribution.
“From the interviews conducted, it was noted that complainants from Buhera North Constituency were not conversant with the criteria of food aid distribution as stipulated in the National Policy on Drought Management. The lack of this vital knowledge exposes them to manipulation due to lack of transparency and accountability compounded by their ignorance of grievance procedures that may be available to them,” he added.
The Commission called on the Zimbabwe Republic Police to investigate all cases of criminal violations of human rights without bias and without fear and also timeously.
African News Agency